kazuyo sejima conceives POLA GINZA as garden of light, scent, and sound in tokyo

"Conceived as a place that awakens what POLA calls the 'latent sense of beauty' in both mind and body, the project unfolds as an immersive sequence of light, sound, scent, and material atmospheres, a spatial narrative built around perception, self-awareness, and time. The renovation brings together an interdisciplinary group of Japanese creatives, including Kazuyo Sejima, composer Keiichiro Shibuya, lighting designer Shozo Toyohisa, and olfactory artist Kan Izumi, each contributing a distinct sensory layer to the whole."

"POLA GINZA, conceived by Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima, co-founder of SANAA, rethinks the beauty flagship as a space of perception. Developed as POLA's global flagship in Tokyo, the project brings together architecture, sound, light, and scent to explore how beauty is sensed, internalized, and activated across mind and body. Grounded in the Science. Art. Love. philosophy of the brand, the space prioritizes atmosphere and experience."

"At ground floor, visitors enter what Japanese architect Kazuyo Sejima describes as a Flora Forest, an animated interior landscape structured by imperfectly symmetrical heptagonal columns. These vertical elements act as spatial cues, creating subtle fluctuations that connect inside and outside, movement and stillness. Walls emit an even, diffused glow, while light shifts almost imperceptibly across surfaces, producing an environment that feels alive rather than staged. The space also hosts a permanent generative sound installation by Keiichiro Shibuya."

POLA GINZA reimagines a beauty flagship as a temporal landscape that foregrounds perception and atmosphere over product display. Architecture, light, sound, scent, and materials are sequenced to awaken a 'latent sense of beauty' across mind and body. An interdisciplinary team including Kazuyo Sejima, Keiichiro Shibuya, Shozo Toyohisa, and Kan Izumi layered distinct sensory elements into an immersive narrative. The ground level opens to a Flora Forest of imperfectly symmetrical heptagonal columns, diffused glowing walls, and subtly shifting light that links inside and outside. A permanent generative sound installation provides continuous, evolving accompaniment. The design operates on its own temporal register to encourage introspection.

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